Cursed Beast
by Scyler
Summary: While exploring a long forgotten temple Atem and the Sacred Guardians accidentally unleash an ancient curse. The curse gives the one afflicted animalistic qualities. There is a catch though, well actually two catches; there is no counter curse and it only affects people who have had strong willful ties to darkness.
1. Chapter 1

**Me: Hey there, loyal readers! Sorry to once again drop another story on your heads but this just had to come out! Just so you all know this is gonna be a Prideshipping story. I hope you all like it and won't kill me if I mes up Kiba's personality, I'm trying. Anyway please R&R! Thanks !**

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World but he was still getting used to them following him around again. After he had returned they had thrown a massive party in his honor. During that time he had been made to slip back into his role as the Pharaoh of Egypt and not being a normal person again. The transition had been a little rough and some of his normal quirks had bled over into his ruling style. At first the Guardians had been confused but accepted it none the less. Things had been going smoothly until one day a traveling merchant brought word of an ancient temple that had risen from the sands. Atem had decided immedietly to plan an expedition to the temple.

A light hand on his shoulder snapped the Pharaoh out of his musings. Turning he saw all of the Guardians standing around him. Giving them a smile and a nod he started walking toward the temple door. The large stone slab had been mostly worn away by the sands suguesting that it was one of the first ever buildings in Egypt. Several of the workers that he was sent in ahead of them had worked to clear a safe path into the temple for them. They now bowed at the sides of the enterance, waiting for Atem and the Guardians to pass. The group of seven did so quickly and easily slipped into the dark room. Using magic Seth and Mahado caused the wall sconces to burst into flame.

"Are you sure you wish to proced further, my King? I sence a dark presence deep with in the temple." Isis murmured, her eyes looking cautiously around the room.

"I am certain, Isis. The dark presence you feel might only be a leftover effect from the building of the temple." Atem said, patting the woman lightly on the shoulder in reassurance.

The woman nodded slowly, still not convinced. Still she knew better than to go against the Pharaoh's word. As Atem turned back around a stray gust of wind blew in from the outside, ruffling clothing and hair. When the gust passed everyone looked down the long hall. The shadows seemed to move on their own accord as the wind faded. Shaking his head slightly Atem stepped deeper into the temple. His shoes barely made a sound as he moved across the floor.

For this expedition all of them had foregone their usual attire in favor of something that would allow for easy movement without getting caught in layers of fabric. Atem was actually wearing some of his clothing from the World of the Living. Needless to say the Guardians were a little concerned about the choice but he seemed totally fine with it. Pulling of the sand colored cloak that the Guardians had practically forced him to wear the Pharaoh stepped deeper into the temple. The Guardians followed his example and shed their cloaks. All of them were feeling just a tad bit self conscious; the king had put all of them in something from the World of the Living. Sure, they trusted his judgement but it was still unusual to them. Even so the they followed him without complaint.

As the group climbed over some of the fallen pillars Karim slipped slightly and his hands snapped out to save himself. When he did the wielder of the Millennium Scales hit a hidden switch in the wall. The others gathered around him but before anyone could say anything a deep groaning filled the air. Seth's head snapped up to look at the ceiling while the others either looked at the ground or the walls. At first nothing happened and the seven started to relax when suddenly a deep cracking sound split the air. Looking down no one had the time to summon a monster as the floor gave way beneath them, dropping them into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed chapter one. Here's chapter two for you. Oh and just so you know there is a new barer of the Millennium Eye. Aknaden is still there but he just deosn't have to power he used to have. Anyway, enjoy! Please R&R!**

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Waking was a slow process. Atem was the first awake and he sat up slowly, shaking his head as he did. Looking slowly around he saw all six of his Guardians sprawled around the new chamber. So far he was the only one to regain consciousness. Reaching out he lightly grabbed the closest of the Guardian's shoulders. As his eyes fully adjusted to the dim light Atem found that the Guardian he was attempting to wake was Shada. It took a few seconds but finally the bald Guardian's blue eyes blinked open. With a soft groan the man sat up before he looked around.

"What happened, my King?" he asked, spotting Atem sitting next to him.

"I'm not entirely sure, Shada. All I know is that we activated some kind of trap." the teen aged king said shaking his head.

"Fantastic..." an irritated baritone voice dragged Atem and Shada's attention to Seth, who had sat up with out making a sound.

"Seth, you are awake." Shada said, stating the obvious.

"That is quite obvious I would think." the other grumbled as he picked up the Millennium Rod.

"Seth, can you give us some light?" Atem said, hardly daring to move in the darkness.

"Of course." Seth replied and light flared up in to room.

"Shada, help me wake the others." the Pharaoh said once his eyes adjusted.

The bald Guardian of the Millennium Key nodded and rose slowly to his feet. Atem followed and the pair moved around and woke the rest of the Guardians. Soon they were all sitting in a circle on the floor trying to get their barrings. Isis leaned into Mahad's shoulder as she rubbed at her temples while the wielded of the Millennium Ring himself rubbed at his right shoulder to soothe the minor ache in the muscles. Karim sat propped up against a piece of fallen rock prodding at his ankle and Amarin, the new wielded of the Millennium Eye, rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. They were all a little battered but not too worse for wear.

"Where are we, your Highness?" Amarin asked, looking up at the young king from her spot on the floor.

"I'm not sure. All I really know is that we are below the entrance of the temple." Atem replied, tilting his head back to look at the dark hole in the ceiling.

"That is so not helpful..." Amarin muttered standing up.

"Amarin! Show some respect!" Mahad said standing slowly and pulling Isis to her feet.

"It's alright, Mahad. Don't worry about it." the teen said waving a hand dismissively.

The brunette nodded slowly, face stony. It seemed that after having spent all the time that he had in the World of the Living had changed him more than the Guardians had originally thought. At first they had only thought that his attitude toward ruling the country had changed. Now, at least to Mahad, it seemed that his entire demeanor had changed. The others didn't seem to notice, or if they did they didn't say anything. That was probably for the best.

Suddenly a ghostly roar grabbed everyone's attention. Seven heads all snapped to look deeper into the darkness. Stem nodded at Seth and the brunette threw a ball of light down in the direction of the roar. For a few seconds nothing seemed to be wrong when suddenly, out of nowhere, a large silvery paw batten the ball out of the air. When the light dies the roar sounded again, but this time it was different. It sounded almost like a whole bunch of different animals calling out at the same time.

"Amarin! What is there? Can you see it?" Atem hissed at the black haired teen.

"Give me a second!" she hissed back as she pushed a lock of black hair away from her right eye.

The golden Millennium Eye glowed softly in the dim light as Amarin activated it. After a few seconds her good eye widened and she gasped. The others looked at her for a moment before she frantically motioned for them to get down. Atem dropped without hesitation, followed shortly by the Guardians. As thy hit the ground a massive gust of wind blew over their heads accompanied by the strange howling sound. No one dared to look up until after the wind died down.

"What the hell was that, Amarin?" the Pharaoh hissed looking over at the young woman.

"It was a strange animal. It seemed to be constantly changing shape as it moved!" the you g woman whispered back.

"Great, a shapeshifter. Thats's exactly what we need," the Pharaoh grumbled to himself before looking at Shada, "Shada, can you see anything with the Key?"

"I can try." Shada replied holding up the Millennium Key as he did.

The Item glowed softly as the bald Guardian concentrated. At first nothing happened but after a few moments the man's blue-gray eyes flew open in shock. The others tensed and waited in silence. In quick, hurried words Shada told them what they were up against. Seth, Amarin, and Karim cursed in Egyptian while Atem swore softly in English. Isis and Mahad exchanged uneasy looks before looking around again.

"There is one more thing; it will only attach to someone with strong willful ties to darkness."


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Hey there! Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter... NOT! It is too much fun to leave people hanging! Anyway I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Things get interesting! Please R&R!**

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If it was even possible all seven people tensed up even more. All eyes, save one pair, turned to Seth. They all knew about how he had been under the Dark One's influence for a while and as such had the strongest ties to darkness. Atem was the only one who didn't seem worried about Seth. Surprisingly none of the Guardians really noticed that the Pharaoh was acting strange. After a few minutes, however, Amarin picked up on the distressed king's thoughts.

"Is there something wrong, my King?" she asked softly, leaning over to him so as to not attract the attention of the others.

"I...I guess you could say that..." Atem muttered looking down.

"You know you can't hide it from me right?"

"I know that! It's just that I don't think you'll believe me."

"Try me. I can be pretty believing when I want to be." the black haired woman said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Fine. I have a stronger willful tie to darkness. Seth has a strong tie to darkness, but it's and unwilling one. That curse won't go after Seth. I just know it." Atem said glancing around the room.

Amarin watched him for a moment and knew that he wasn't lying. It was probably the hardest thing in the world to lie to her about anything. Nodding slowly she tried to give him a reassuring smile but it probably looked more like a grimace. Thankfully Atem took it as what she meant it as. He nodded to her before looking at the others. They were all still fussing over Seth and not paying attention to Amarin and Atem. As it also happened they were oblivious to the curse as it circled their heads. With an earsplitting howl the curse descended.

At the howl the Guardians scattered. They took off in different directions, scrambling over large chunks of fallen stonework. Roaring angrily the curse took off after Seth. Darting around a pillar the brunette pressed himself against the wall. Amazingly Seth hd put himself in a hard to reach place. The beast howled and clawed at Seth's hiding spot but to no avail. After a few minutes The beast seemed to give up; it backed up a few paces before preparing to take off into the air again. Seth made the mistake of stepping out from behind the pillar partially to see if had truly given up on him. Whirling around the curse roared at the brunette. It never got the chance to lunge though; a strong dark tie brushed against it's consciousness, pulling it away from the Guardian.

"Leave him be!" an authoritative voice called.

Snapping it's head around the curse spotted the Pharaoh standing on a piece of fallen stone work. Shifting eyes narrowed as it concentrated on the man before it. Finding a strong willful tie to the darkness the curse roared and lunged after the shorter man. Crimson eyes widened slightly as Atem took off. Vaulting over part of a fallen pillar the young king scrambled to a higher perch. Hissing like a mad creature the curse leaped after him. Atem raced across the flat top of a chunk of stone, headed for a gap between himself at a broken pillar. The Guardians had all come from their hiding spots and watched with wide eyes as the curse chased the Pharaoh.

Reaching the edge of the block Atem jumped. The distance wasn't too far and had he not had a curse chasing him around he would have made it. Instead, as son as his feet left the ground, the curse pounced. It slammed into his back with enough force to knock the young man a few inches off course. His lower body slammed into the side of the pillar as his hands scrabbled across the to in an attempt to save himself. Too bad the force of the hit knocked all the wind out of him and he fell. As he hit the ground, out of sight of the Guardians, a black light surrounded him and temporarily blinded everyone in the room. It would be a few minutes for the blindness to wear off but until then the Guardians didn't know what had become of their beloved king.


End file.
